Water heater (A.O Smith) 75 gallons - making clanking noises. I believe it is the sediment that's there but I have never flushed the water heater ever since it was installed at the end of 2011.


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Questions:

1. Would flushing it out lead to potential gas leaks since it's never been flushed out before. I should have known to flush it out on an annual basis. I purchased the home in 2014 as a new owner, so it's really only been truly used in 2014, and it's just me living in the home.


Appreciate any and all the help!



Edited 1 times.

you will not harm the gas supply to the heater in any way by flushing it.
just look on you tube at a couple of videos for instructions about flushing your heater.
it is really pretty simple.

You will not harm the gas supply by flushing it but before doing so check few videos on youtube and flush it.

Thanks guys! Do you think flushing will provide a 50/50 chance of the sounds being eliminated? Given that it was manufactured in 2011 but only really used in 2014 up to now (family of 1), I feel like it's not time to replace and change out the water heater completely.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

how is anybody gonna know how much there is on the bottom of the tank that needs to be removed?

if its been that long and the water is not great quality then expect the worst.

probably gonna have to drain it dry and turn the cold on full blast for 10 seconds, shut it off and repeat.

put it this way. it could be so bad that you need to unscrew the drain valve and get in there with a soft bottle brush or it could be just a light coating of debris that will be blasted away with water splashing against it.

just hope for the best. :>

Looks like the sediment trap and thermal expansion tank were never installed.

So it's been 5 years without flushing.

There's quite a bit of sediment, and my concern is there may be leakage, not from the gas line but the tank itself if I were to flush.

Just wanted to see what my options are for repair in hopes of salvaging it before having to fork out $$$ for a brand new one.